ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday that sellers of unregistered SIM cards will face heavy fines, warning the practice can facilitate criminal activity and vowing legal action to protect citizens.
“Sellers of unregistered SIM cards will be fined heavily,” read a ministry Facebook post.
Officials from the interior and transportation ministries met with representatives from seven mobile and internet companies on Thursday to address the issue.
“Special committees… were instructed to take legal action against any stores that sell SIM cards without a legal registration process,” the ministry stated, adding that some stores have already been closed and daily monitoring is in-place.
Selling unregistered SIM cards could enable nefarious and even criminal activity, allowing offenders to evade the law.
"This is participation in crime, and the interior ministry will take legal action to protect citizens," it said.
Violators can be fined 3 million Iraqi dinars (around $2,000) per unregistered SIM card found, according to the interior ministry.
A SIM, or subscriber identity/identification module, is a removable card that allows cell phones and mobile devices to connect with mobile carriers. SIMs can also be used to store some identification information like contacts, phone numbers, and text messages.
The ministry also urged primary and secondary SIM card sellers to register promptly to ensure all sales are done through a regulated registration system.
In November 2021, Kurdo Omer, then head of the KRG Directorate of Combatting Violence Against Women, said that scraping unregistered SIM cards is good because they have been used to harass women.
Unregistered numbers have reportedly been used to threaten people including politicians.
